The 1992 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 34th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 16, 1992, before an audience of 140,000 in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete.

1992 Daytona 500 By STP
Race details
Race 1 of 29 in the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1992 Daytona 500 program cover, featuring Ernie Irvan.
The 1992 Daytona 500 program cover, featuring Ernie Irvan.
Date February 16, 1992
Official name 34th Annual Daytona 500 By STP
Location Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona International Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Average speed 160.256 miles per hour (257.907 km/h)
Attendance 140,000
Pole position
Driver Junior Johnson & Associates
Time 46.823
Most laps led
Driver Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing
Laps 127
Winner
No. 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Neil Bonnett, Ned Jarrett
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

Leading for over half of the race, Robert Yates Racing's Davey Allison managed to avoid a major wreck in the first half of the race that took out several contenders. Afterwards, Allison managed to dominate the latter stages of the race, leading the final 98 laps en route to his 14th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his first victory of the season, and his only career Daytona 500 victory.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Wood Brothers Racing's Morgan Shepherd and Bud Moore Engineering's Geoff Bodine finished second and third, respectively.

Background

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The layout of Daytona International Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford Masters Inn Economy
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile Skoal
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac Miller Genuine Draft
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
03 Kerry Teague KT Motorsports Oldsmobile Team USA: America's Car
4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline
7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Hooters
8 Dick Trickle Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Snickers
9 Phil Parsons Melling Racing Ford Melling Racing
10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet Purolator Filters
11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Chevrolet Raybestos
13 Dave Mader III Folsom Racing Chevrolet Seal-Tech
13 Mike Skinner Mansion Motorsports Chevrolet Glidden
14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile Copenhagen
15 Geoff Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft
16 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Roush Racing Ford Keystone
17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Western Auto
18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet Interstate Batteries
20 Mike Wallace Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 1st Ade
21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Maxwell House
23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile SplitFire
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford Quaker State
28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
31 Bobby Hillin Jr. Team Ireland Chevrolet Team Ireland
33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Bandit
41 Greg Sacks Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Mello Yello
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
47 Buddy Baker Close Racing Oldsmobile Close Racing
48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet Son's Auto Supply
49 Stanley Smith BS&S Motorsports Chevrolet Ameritron
50 Clay Young Clay Young Racing Pontiac Aflac
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Jimmy Means Racing
55 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Oldsmobile Jasper Engines & Transmissions
59 Andy Belmont (R) Pat Rissi Racing Ford Slick 50
62 Ben Hess Gray Racing Ford Gray Racing
66 Chad Little Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford Phillips 66 TropArtic
68 Bobby Hamilton TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile Country Time
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Abilene Boots
73 Phil Barkdoll Barkdoll Racing Oldsmobile X-1R
75 Dick Trickle RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile RahMoc Enterprises
77 Mike Potter Balough Racing Chevrolet Kenova Golf Course Construction
83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Chevrolet Purex
84 Dave Pletcher Sr. Pletcher Racing Pontiac Pletcher Racing
88 Joe Booher Malloch Racing Pontiac Malloch Racing
89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac Evinrude Outboard Motors
90 Dorsey Schroeder Donlavey Racing Ford Whistler Group
94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco
95 Bob Schacht (R) Sadler Brothers Racing Oldsmobile Shoney's
97 Mark Gibson Collins Racing Oldsmobile Collins Racing
98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet Moly Black Gold
99 Brad Teague Ball Motorsports Chevrolet Ball Motorsports

Qualifying

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Qualifying was set by the 1992 Gatorade Twin 125 Qualifiers. The top two positions were set by qualifying speeds held for the Twin 125 Qualifiers held on Sunday, February 9, with the top two qualifiers in the session earning the top two positions for the Daytona 500. The rest of the starting was set in the Twin 125 Qualifiers, held on Thursday, February 14, during two races. The top 14 finishers in the first race, excluding the pole position winner, set the inside row from rows two to 15, and the top 14 finishers in the second race, excluding the outside pole position winner, set the outside row from rows two to 15. The remaining non-qualifiers set positions 31-40 based on qualifying speeds from the first qualifying session held on Sunday. If needed, up to two extra provisionals were given to teams high enough in the previous season's owner's standings that did not qualify for the race by either qualifying speed or from the Twin 125 Qualifiers.

Sterling Marlin, driving for Junior Johnson & Associates, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 46.823 and an average speed of 192.213 miles per hour (309.337 km/h) in Sunday's session.[3]

15 drivers failed to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Reason
1 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Qualified on pole
2 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Qualified on outside pole
3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet First in Twin 125 #1
4 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford Second in Twin 125 #2
5 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Second in Twin 125 #1
6 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford Third in Twin 125 #2
7 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Third in Twin 125 #1
8 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Fourth in Twin 125 #2
9 41 Greg Sacks Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Fourth in Twin 125 #1
10 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Fifth in Twin 125 #2
11 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile Fifth in Twin 125 #1
12 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Sixth in Twin 125 #2
13 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile Sixth in Twin 125 #1
14 66 Chad Little Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford Seventh in Twin 125 #2
15 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Seventh in Twin 125 #1
16 15 Geoff Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford Eighth in Twin 125 #2
17 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac Eighth in Twin 125 #1
18 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford Ninth in Twin 125 #2
19 9 Phil Parsons Melling Racing Ford Ninth in Twin 125 #1
20 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet Tenth in Twin 125 #2
21 03 Kerry Teague KT Motorsports Oldsmobile Tenth in Twin 125 #1
22 68 Bobby Hamilton TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 11th in Twin 125 #2
23 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 11th in Twin 125 #1
24 47 Buddy Baker Close Racing Oldsmobile 12th in Twin 125 #2
25 73 Phil Barkdoll Barkdoll Racing Oldsmobile 12th in Twin 125 #1
26 31 Bobby Hillin Jr. Team Ireland Chevrolet 13th in Twin 125 #2
27 0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford 13th in Twin 125 #1
28 75 Dick Trickle RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 14th in Twin 125 #2
29 77 Mike Potter Balogh Racing Chevrolet 14th in Twin 125 #1
30 49 Stanley Smith BS&S Motorsports Chevrolet 15th in Twin 125 #2
31 90 Dorsey Schroeder Donlavey Racing Ford Speed provisional (191.404)
32 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac Speed provisional (189.909)
33 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Speed provisional (189.717)
34 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Speed provisional (188.897)
35 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet Speed provisional (188.644)
36 95 Bob Schacht Sadler Brothers Racing Oldsmobile Speed provisional (188.225)
37 16 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Roush Racing Ford Speed provisional (188.206)
38 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Speed provisional (187.993)
39 14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile Speed provisional (187.903)
40 55 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Chevrolet Speed provisional (187.336)
41 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Owner's points provisional
42 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Chevrolet Owner's points provisional
Failed to qualify or withdrew
43 99 Brad Teague Ball Motorsports Chevrolet 15th in Twin 125 #1
44 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Chevrolet 17th in Twin 125 #2
45 59 Andy Belmont (R) Pat Rissi Racing Ford 16th in Twin 125 #1
46 89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac 18th in Twin 125 #2
47 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile 20th in Twin 125 #1
48 20 Mike Wallace Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 19th in Twin 125 #2
49 13 Dave Mader III Folsom Racing Chevrolet 28th in Twin 125 #1
50 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 21st in Twin 125 #2
51 62 Ben Hess Gray Racing Ford 29th in Twin 125 #1
52 13 Mike Skinner Mansion Motorsports Chevrolet 22nd in Twin 125 #2
53 88 Joe Booher Malloch Racing Pontiac 23rd in Twin 125 #2
54 50 Clay Young Clay Young Racing Pontiac 24th in Twin 125 #2
55 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet 25th in Twin 125 #2
56 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 26th in Twin 125 #2
57 97 Mark Gibson Collins Racing Oldsmobile 27th in Twin 125 #2
WD 84 Dave Pletcher Sr. Pletcher Racing Pontiac Lack of practice speed
Official Twin 125 Qualifiers results
Official starting lineup

Race Summary

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The start

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The initial laps of the race were free of incidents, although on lap 41 Geoff Bodine and Morgan Shepherd touched exiting Turn 4 with no further incident. Brett Bodine and Ricky Rudd fell out in the first half of the race with separate engine failures, as the Junior Johnson cars of Sterling Marlin and Bill Elliott established themselves as the cars to beat. Davey Allison's crew gambled with a two-tire change but caught a lucky break when Geoff Bodine was penalized for speeding, and gained a drafting partner.

The Big One

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Rain fell after 80 laps, and when the race restarted Ernie Irvan went for the lead on lap 92. He came up in front of Sterling Marlin, but had not cleared him, and also moved him up the track into his teammate Bill Elliott who was on the outside. The ensuing mayhem collected polesitter Sterling Marlin, Ernie Irvan, Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, Ken Schrader and Dale Earnhardt. Also, Bobby Hillin Jr., Dale Jarrett, Alan Kulwicki, Chad Little, Richard Petty, Hut Stricklin, Rusty Wallace, and Darrell Waltrip were involved.

The wreck ended the race for Jarrett, Schrader, Marlin, Hillin, and Little, with their cars being terminally damaged.

The finish

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On Lap 144 Rick Wilson was planning to pit the Stavola Brothers Ford, but Kerry Teague did not realize it and ran into him. This brought out the third yellow flag in the race. On Lap 166 Ernie Irvan's crippled car spun to bring out the fourth caution flag. Leaders Allison, Shepherd, and Michael Waltrip made their final stops. Waltrip fell back after the restart with an engine that was quitting. This left the two Ford Thunderbirds of Allison and Shepherd to race for the win, finishing in this order. This win made the Allisons the second father-son duo to win the Daytona 500, joining Lee and Richard Petty. Alan Kulwicki finished a quiet fourth which kicked off an unlikely championship run.

Race results

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Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 6 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 200 127 running 185 $244,050
2 4 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 200 7 running 175 $181,300
3 16 15 Geoff Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 200 0 running 165 $116,250
4 41 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 200 0 running 160 $87,500
5 28 75 Dick Trickle RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 200 0 running 155 $78,800
6 33 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 200 0 running 150 $67,700
7 34 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 199 0 running 146 $58,575
8 40 55 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Chevrolet 199 0 running 142 $52,750
9 3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 199 0 running 138 $87,000
10 19 9 Phil Parsons Melling Racing Ford 199 0 running 134 $49,150
11 24 47 Buddy Baker Close Racing Oldsmobile 199 0 running 130 $38,275
12 11 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 199 0 running 127 $51,100
13 13 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 199 0 running 124 $40,355
14 9 41 Greg Sacks Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 199 0 running 121 $36,790
15 37 16 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Roush Racing Ford 198 0 running 118 $29,700
16 32 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 198 0 running 115 $32,530
17 25 73 Phil Barkdoll Barkdoll Racing Oldsmobile 198 0 running 112 $27,960
18 10 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 197 3 flagged 114 $37,140
19 31 90 Dorsey Schroeder Donlavey Racing Ford 196 0 running 106 $25,750
20 23 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 195 0 running 103 $26,210
21 39 14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile 195 0 running 100 $23,055
22 30 49 Stanley Smith BS&S Motorsports Chevrolet 195 0 running 97 $24,150
23 38 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 195 0 running 94 $24,045
24 42 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Chevrolet 188 0 running 91 $27,740
25 27 0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford 188 0 running 88 $23,285
26 12 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 180 1 running 90 $33,580
27 2 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 178 23 running 87 $60,255
28 7 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 166 0 handling 79 $43,370
29 5 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 162 0 running 76 $49,675
30 29 77 Mike Potter Balogh Racing Chevrolet 151 0 fuel pump 73 $21,710
31 17 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 150 0 running 70 $30,455
32 22 68 Bobby Hamilton TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 125 0 piston 67 $27,350
33 21 03 Kerry Teague KT Motorsports Oldsmobile 122 0 accident 64 $22,445
34 20 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 120 0 radiator 61 $23,115
35 1 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 91 33 accident 63 $34,435
36 35 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 91 0 accident 55 $19,780
37 15 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 91 6 accident 57 $30,500
38 26 31 Bobby Hillin Jr. Team Ireland Chevrolet 91 0 accident 49 $20,370
39 14 66 Chad Little Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 90 0 accident 46 $22,760
40 8 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 79 0 engine 43 $34,350
41 18 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 13 0 distributor 40 $25,150
42 36 95 Bob Schacht Sadler Brothers Racing Oldsmobile 7 0 engine 37 $18,250
Failed to qualify or withdrew
43 99 Brad Teague Ball Motorsports Chevrolet
44 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Chevrolet
45 59 Andy Belmont (R) Pat Rissi Racing Ford
46 89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac
47 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile
48 20 Mike Wallace Moroso Racing Oldsmobile
49 13 Dave Mader III Folsom Racing Chevrolet
50 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet
51 62 Ben Hess Gray Racing Ford
52 13 Mike Skinner Mansion Motorsports Chevrolet
53 88 Joe Booher Malloch Racing Pontiac
54 50 Clay Young Clay Young Racing Pontiac
55 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet
56 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac
57 97 Mark Gibson Collins Racing Oldsmobile
WD 84 Dave Pletcher Sr. Pletcher Racing Pontiac
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (February 17, 1992). "Allison steers clear to victory". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 5B. Retrieved September 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Long, Gary (February 17, 1992). "D. Allison earns 500 glory". The Miami Herald. pp. 1D, 5D. Retrieved September 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Higgins, Tom (February 10, 1992). "Schrader Dashes To Daytona 500 Pole". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 3B. Retrieved September 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  


Previous race:
1991 Hardee's 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1992 season
Next race:
1992 GM Goodwrench 500